


Next Time Around

by AtaVictoria



Category: Original Work
Genre: Gen, Novel, Original Fiction, Work In Progress
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-06-06
Updated: 2013-06-06
Packaged: 2017-12-14 03:58:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 4
Words: 2,787
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/832458
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AtaVictoria/pseuds/AtaVictoria
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>While her family moves back to Denmark, Fey decides to stay in muggy South Carolina, for no reason better than the fact that she needs to create her own life. She meets a few unique friends who help her along the way, through difficulties of assault, accidents, and finding herself.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> (The rape scene only comes in at chapter 4, and is not in detail, only describing what happens after the fact. It is not in depth or graphic in any way.)

My mother was never fond of the idea of me being on my own, but my father was very supportive. “Be easy on her, Anna,” He would say, in his calming Dutch accent. “You left home when you were about her age.” 

I suppose that was her problem with it, that I wasn't the one leaving home: they were.

My dad was taking my mom and my little brother, Benny, back to Denmark, now that my grandpa had retired. My dad was inheriting the family bookshop there.

Honestly, I actually missed Denmark. I had moved here when I was 11, so I remembered it well. I missed the smell of the old paper in the bookshop and the pink petals that filled the streets when the trees shed and riding my bike to school every morning in the cool air.

But, instead, I was choosing to stay in Charleston, where the humidity made it consistently hard to breath and fans and AC units shook the buildings around me.

I just wanted to find a life of my own. I didn't want an inherited bookshop or a multigenerational house. I wanted to choose my own path, or at least have the choice to. And so, began the adventure of college.

 

Arriving to your dorm a week ahead of time is probably an action that would land you on a list excluding you from associating with normal people, but when your family is in a separate country and you’re searching for a job, it’s your only option.

I took a lengthy shower, something I had done every day now, trying to pass the time on my own. Passing the full length mirror that filled the back of the door, I took a long look at myself.

I wasn't totally unattractive. I was very thin for a girl who wore size 6 jeans. My hips protruded from my waist at an unnatural angle, and my ribs made my stomach look like a marimba. My chest was built like a 9 year old boy’s, and my collar bones sat lower than they probably should have. Despite my red hair, my flat-bridged nose wasn't speckled with freckles, and I didn't have apple green eyes. They wouldn't look good with the color of my hair, anyway. My locks, lying in loose curls down to my ass, were a deep rouge color, like cherry cola, rather than carrot orange, and my eyes were an ice blue that made them look hollow. I was in the process of getting a tan, as it was South Carolina in July, and with my fair skin, I was actually doing well avoiding sunburn.

Fed up with gawking at myself in the mirror, I pulled on a slightly-too-large white V-neck and some high-waisted jeans that made my hips looked slightly less freakish, and my ratty old ballet flats, which I desperately needed a new pair of.

I was putting my old clothes away in my dorm room when-

“HI, ROOMIE, I’M JADE.” I’m not even exaggerating: she was enthusiastically screaming at me. I felt I’d heard a ghost when she said it, and like I’d been touched by one when her elbow made impact with my shoulder.

She stood about 4 inches taller than me, but she didn't look intimidating. She had dark tan skin, and a curly pixie cut with lighter tips, telling me she had dyed it and let it grow out at one point. She had winged eyeliner on her angled eyes, and in conjunction with her straight, pointed nose, she reminded me of an Egyptian goddess. She wore a long patterned skirt and a denim shirt, both of which I wish I could pull off on my bony figure.

I snapped out of my stunned state long enough to introduce myself. “Fey,” I heaved out, as I tried to prevent myself from hyperventilating. “My full name is Agrafena, but just call me Fey.”

“Well then Fey, what ya’ doing here so early for? I’m a full 3 days early, didn’t think any other freshman would be here, yet.” She flopped down onto her bed like she was already home. She looked at my maps and book posters on the wall. I kind of hoped she wouldn't comment on them. “My family had to go back to Denmark, and I decided to stay so I could finish college, already being accepted and all.”

“I knew I heard an accent. Also, the name kind of hinted at it.” I hated my first name, because it wasn't even Dutch, it was Russian. My mom picked out my name, and she was Russian, so being a Dutch girl with a Russian name in America just screamed foreign. I even got taunted in Denmark, because of it. But, lucky for me, I could shorten it to Fey, which I loved. But, I wasn't going to correct her on my name.

She went on, decorating the horrifically colored room (it had brightly colored tile, purple chairs, and, our room, had a brightly painted window that looked wonderful on the outside and slightly terrifying on the inside), and putting on the long twin bed set she had. I went to our mini fridge and pulled out 2 sodas for us. We both laid down on our beds and drank the colas, and discussed life as it was becoming to be.

“So have you found a job, yet?” I asked between sips.

“Actually, yeah. I work at this old bookshop on King Street: Blue Bicycle Books.”

“Lucky you. I've been searching for one for 2 months now.”

“I could put in a good word for you down there, get you an application. They're hiring.”

“Thanks.” When forced into conversation with a stranger, it was amazing how easily I could accomplish social interaction. We stayed there for the rest of the day, basking in the A/C, talking about nothing, and it was actually the most fun I’d had in weeks.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fey finally snags a job, but she can't exactly call her job - or the people who come in - normal.

To call Blue Bicycle Books a strange book store was… an understatement, to say the least.

From the front, it looked like your average bookstore. A medium sized room with bookshelves lining every wall, and a counter in the corner with a classic typewriter sitting on the counter. But, as you got deeper into the store, it was obvious it was odd.  
It had originally been someone’s home, probably, because as you went down the hallway to the back, rooms stemmed off to the sides. Another hallway contained 2 more rooms of books, all of which were separated by genre, and the restrooms. If you continued off of the main hallway, there was a storage room in the far back, filled to the brim with buy-and-build shelving, and books covering all of them.

After Jade told the owners about me, they hired me on the spot. 

I'm not quite sure why.

One day, Jade piled into our dorm room with a six pack of beer and her girlfriend, both of which were not supposed to be in the dorms, but hey, she broke the rules, and I never minded. Kept me from having to do the same.

I rarely drank, but when offered, I wouldn’t turn alcohol down. I was 18, and from Denmark. It wasn't exactly forbidden to me. As we sat around, drinking from the cold glass bottles, I couldn't help but notice how close they were, Jade and Cory.

Cory was short for something, I couldn't quite remember. She had curly black hair that always sat in a big bun on top of her head, and round, dark eyes. She was extremely pale, with light, powdery lips. She was all stark contrast. She reminded me a bit of a librarian, with her collared shirt and sweater, and a little circle skirt. She was beautiful, in the way that Belle was in Beauty and the Beast. She was smart, and her looks complimented it.

But the most important part was, she made her happy. And that was all that mattered.

I was jealous.

I didn't want anything romantic, I just wanted to make someone happy. I wanted someone to make me happy. I wanted to be closer to Jade, and Cory, and anyone who wanted to be my friend. And so, I made it my goal not to turn down any social interaction the next day.

I spent most of the next day like I normally did, just sitting behind the counter in the bookstore, my stack of books read increasing slowly. People just weren't coming in. Luckily, Jade was on that day, so she kept me occupied when I just couldn't read anymore.

And then, he walked in.

There wasn't anything specifically special about him, it was just how casually he walked in, like he owned the place, and how he smiled at all of us. 

It wasn't until later I knew who he was.

After Jade saw me looking dazed at the door after he left, Jade snapped in my face, and began to explain. “His name is Ameer, in case you were wondering. He’s a fisherman around here. Comes in a lot. We hang out, some.”

I looked at her, wondering why she was explaining. “I wasn't wondering.”

“Of course you were, no one looks like that after a person and just ‘wasn't wondering’,” she giggled. “I could invite him over, sometime.”

I was going to tell her not to, but she just walked away, pleased with herself.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fey gets to talk with her mysterious customer, Ameer, for the first time.

He was about 6’3”. His jet black hair hung low in his face. His eyes were the same color as his hair, and his skin was dark from days of net-casting.

And he was in my dorm room.  
“Okay, The Looking Glass Wars or Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland?” he asked. We had been discussing books, and their modern adaptations.

“I've never read The Looking Glass Wars,” yelled Jade. She was in the ‘kitchen’ (it was a room with a mini fridge and a microwave), pouring drinks for all of us: some sort of lime green concoction that tasted like melon and made my nose tickle. I had been too embarrassed to ask what it was called.

“Sometimes, I feel like Alyss,” I mumbled between sips of- whatever it was I was drinking.

“Alice or Alyss?” Ameer snickered, sipping on his drink and, admittedly, looking much cooler that I did, as I was making little shakes after each sip as I felt it throughout most of my body, like scotch. 

“Alyss.” It was hard to differentiate between the two vocally, but he knew who I meant. “I mean, I come from somewhere different, and when I tell others about my home, they pass it off as unimportant, and I’m scared that if I go back, it won’t be the same as when I left.” He smiled at that, in a way that was fairly embarrassing coming from someone who was practically a stranger. “And people have trouble spelling my name.” I giggled at my own joke. I was obviously a little bit tipsy.

After an evening of finishing mysterious drinks and talking about books and names, and Jade and Cory going off on their own for a little while, Cory took Ameer home, as she had a tolerance to alcohol that an Irishman would be jealous of.

I turned over in my bed, after hearing Jade finally crawl in after pulling herself out of a slightly sick state in the bathroom. “You awake?” I sounded like a little kid in a sleepover. Every night was a sleepover, I suppose.

“No,” Jade sneered, turning herself over. I snorted, and lay on my back, staring up at the ceiling, painted in dark red from the street light coming through the cracks in our shades and our horrifically painted window. 

And I began to think that just maybe, things were turning out as hoped.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I realize this chapter was short, but trust me, it works.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An accident at the bookstore leads to an unexpected adventure.

“Hurry up Jade, we're going to be late!” It was noon, and Jade had only gotten out of bed and into the shower 10 minutes ago. I sighed, running around our dorm and picking up all the clothes she had pulled out of the drawers.

Jade had started signing up for the same shifts as me at the book stop, because it was easier to get all the way over to King Street together, and because she needed someone to push her to actually get there on time.

Jade’s phone was buzzing on the nightstand, vibrating in circles and playing “Same Love”. “You want me to get that?” I screamed, trying to get her attention over the running water. After receiving a positive reply, I picked up her phone, only to hear a sobbing Cory on the other end.

I've never seen Jade move faster. I've also never maneuvered my way through Charleston traffic that quickly. Normally, we would just take the trolley, but Jade would have probably beaten up the driver for taking too long.

Once we got into the bookstore, a cop was talking to Lauren and Jonathan, the store’s owners, who apparently had come in on the incident. Cory sat on the floor, leaning against one of the shelves, lightly petting Purdy, the cat that roamed the store. I don't think I could ever say this about a cat, but she looked worried.

Cory was a mess. Her skirt was ripped at the waist, her face flushed of color, and some blood was splattered on her stomach and legs. Jade was afraid to touch her, afraid she would scare her, but upon seeing her, she ran and threw herself into her arms, tears soaking Jade’s shirt.

Ameer walked in a few minutes later. We were all questioned: asked if the man had ever come into the store before and if we knew who he was. After the cops left, and Jade took Cory to the hospital, even though we had sufficient evidence from witnesses, Ameer and I took to cleaning the blood off of the floor.

After a long silence, Ameer spoke up. “We're lucky that Jonathan and Lauren were here,” I still felt awkward, mopping up a man’s blood. There wasn't a ton, but from what I saw of that man escorted to the back seat of the police car, Jon had torn him up pretty badly.

I sighed, more worried than irritated or wordless. “I suppose it’s just not something you ever actually think of happening, to you or your friends. We are very, very lucky.” I looked up, with a still concerned look on my face, and forced a friendly smile. It wasn't because I needed to hide my concern: he was just as worried as I was. It was just assurance.

Jon and Lauren told me that Jade, Cory and I were all allowed off for the next few days. Having nothing else to do, Ameer offered to take me to the Five Guys down the road, while we waited for Jade and Cory to be back with my car.

After downing the giant burgers and full bag of fries served to us, I leaned back in my chair, balancing myself on the back two legs.

“Do you miss Denmark?” Ameer said, looking at me intently, sipping a Dr. Pepper. 

“Often,” I smiled. “I feel like you would like it.” I hadn't thought about my family much lately. I wondered how they were doing. I wondered if Benny was making friends in school, if my dad was enjoying the book shop, if my mom was doing well relearning Dutch: she hadn't been all that great at it the first time she learned it.

“Fey?” I snapped back to reality, to see an earth-toned hand snapping in front of my face. I realized I must have looked much more worried than I was, and the fact that I had nearly lost my balance on my chair. I leaned back in towards the table, rubbing my hands in my eyes. “Yeah, sorry…” I leaned on my arms, elbows firm against the table. I felt like I hadn't slept a wink, even though only a few hours before I was rolling out of bed from at least 8 hours of sleep.

“Let’s do it.” I snapped my head up, confused as to what he was referring to.

“Do what?” I was totally lost now, my head was spinning.

“Lets go to Denmark. Visit your family.”  
“When?”  
“Spring break.”  
“How will we get there?”  
“There are cheap airlines, and I've got money saved up.”  
“You're being serious right now.”  
“Very.” He smirked, somehow pleased with the fact that after such a traumatic experience, he'd turned it into a wonderful day. I stuck out my hand, smiling back.  
“Deal.”

And with a firm grip, the trip was decided.


End file.
